-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An Italian appeal court has overturned former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi 's convictions for sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power .

A panel of judges convicted Berlusconi of both charges in June 2013 , sentencing the flamboyant billionaire tycoon to seven years in prison and barring him from holding public office .

Prosecutors had argued that Berlusconi had sex 13 times with underage dancer Karima el Mahroug -- known as `` Ruby the heart-stealer '' -- and abused his position when he intervened in May 2010 to get her released from jail , where she was being held on charges of theft .

They said Berlusconi paid el Mahroug and other young women performing stripteases and erotic actions at `` bunga bunga '' parties . Berlusconi said the parties were normal dinner gatherings where no one misbehaved .

He denied the charges against him and his attorney told reporters at the time that he would appeal the convictions , arguing that it had not been a fair trial .

The billionaire media tycoon claimed he had persecuted by leftist magistrates .

`` There are still people who use the penal code as a weapon in their ideological battles , '' he said last year .

On Friday , Milan Court of Appeal presiding judge Concetta Locurto read his acquittal verdict live on Italian television .

Locurto said Berlusconi , 77 , had been acquitted of the charge of abuse of office because the `` the act did not take place '' and from prostitution with a minor because the `` facts do not constitute a crime . ''

Milan 's prosecutor can appeal the verdict to Italy 's Supreme Court , which would make a final ruling in the case .

Berlusconi , who served on and off as prime minister between 1994 and 2011 , is arguably one of the most colorful and controversial figures in the lively history of Italian politics . For years , he has been entangled in fraud , corruption and sex scandals that have often reached Italian courts .

Berlusconi was handed a four-year community service sentence last August -- commuted to a year -- for tax fraud at Mediaset , the large commercial broadcaster that he founded .

He is is serving that sentence at a hospice near Milan -- where he was for today 's acquittal in the Ruby case .

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Prosecutors said Berlusconi had sex with underage dancer called `` Ruby the heart-stealer ''

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Berlusconi appealed his 2013 conviction and Milan 's Court of Appeal acquitted him Friday

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Judge : One alleged act `` did not take place '' ; the facts of another `` do not constitute a crime ''

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Acquittal can be appealed to Italy 's Supreme Court , which would make a final ruling